


The Knight’s King

by obesbones



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Getting Together, Knight George, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Injuries, Mutual Pining, Pining, Sword Fighting, dreamnotfound, king dream, mentions of knight Sapnap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:48:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27751801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obesbones/pseuds/obesbones
Summary: George is the king’s best knight. He works hard to keep the kingdom and it’s people safe, and he takes his job very seriously. The king seems to take an interest in his knight, one that George cannot fathom. What is he meant to do when he begins to fall fast and hard for the king, who is so far above him not only in rank but in everything else as well? How can be handle being around the flirtatious king constantly without accidentally acting upon his feelings, saying the wrong thing?George is certain of one thing, at least. This is harder than any other battle he has ever had to face.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 106





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me for this being ooc, it's my first shot at writing these guys. I'll get the hang of it soon!! Also yeah, I'm unique, I write knight George and king Dream instead of the other way around/j 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and take care! <3

"You're injured." The king said, the first words from his mouth upon catching sight of his top ranking knight. 

George looked up at his king after bowing before him, blinking slowly. "Your majesty, it is only a small cut. I apologize if the messiness is impolite of me. I was told to see you directly after the fight." 

"No, no," king Clay muttered and shook his head. His voice was soft, and he examined the cut that graced his knights arm carefully. "Don't be silly, it isn't that at all." 

The king rose from his ornate throne and approached him. George stood very still. The king did not approach people. His people were meant to approach him. Still, the king drew nearer to him, and George waited carefully in place to see what he would do. He couldn't help it when he jumped as the man grabbed hold of his arm, surprised at the touch. 

"My apologies," the king said, hand already removed from the knights arm. "I should have asked first. Would you allow me to examine your arm, George?" 

George swallowed thickly, shiver running down his spine at the sound of his name coming from the king's lips. George did not dare to look down at them despite the aching urge he felt to do so. 

"You are my king," George said after collecting himself. "I will never refuse anything for you, sire." 

"You are allowed to tell me no here, my Knight." The king assured. "When it comes to something like this. You are my Knight, and you follow my orders, but you are human as well. I will treat you as such." 

George almost hated his king for being so kind. Except, he didn't really. Quite the opposite in fact. 

"I don't mind, sire." George answered honestly. "You only caught me off guard. I am a knight, after all. When you are under attack as often as I, it is easy to mistake something small for another attack." 

The king frowned, and George felt his blood run cold. Had he said something wrong? Was the king upset with him? In the middle of this rush of questions the kings expression had already changed back to a more neutral one, and he began to speak again. 

"So, it is alright for me to examine your wound?" The king questioned, holding a hand out towards George's. George stared at it for a moment, dumbstruck and caught terribly off guard. He didn't mind though, and he felt it would be rude to leave the king waiting a single moment longer, so he nodded quickly and placed his hand into the kings. 

George felt his cheeks redden as his hands met the soft skin of his king's hand, embarrassed by the rough and calloused hand of his own. He had been in many battles, handled many weapons, and gained many new injuries that left ridges and scars across his pale skin. He was almost sure the king would recoil his hand the moment their skin touched, disgusted by him, but he did not. Instead his thumb smoothed across the rough skin of George's hand, and the king's other hand rose to rest on his arm, near the cut that had torn open the sleeve of George's shirt. The king's soft, clean hands met with the mostly dried blood around the knight's wound, some of it staining the tips of his fingers a dark red. 

"You need to attend to this." The king spoke after a few moments of awkward silence, eyes raising to meet George's. The knight averted his gaze downward to his arm, swallowing hard. 

"Yes, sire. I intended to after our meeting." 

"That won't do." The king said, letting go of George and stepping past him towards the throne room's doors. George turned to see what he was doing, frown on his lips and eyebrows furrowed. The king looked back to him briefly, raising his hand in a beckoning motion. "Come, my knight." 

George scrambled to follow behind him, struggling to keep up with the pace of the king. The king was significantly taller than him, taking longer, confident strides towards their destination, wherever that may be. He managed to stay caught up, and watched as the king stopped before the infirmary door. He knocked once, twice, then entered without a response. The physician turned to greet him, putting aside whatever he had been working on to stand and bow for his king. 

"You are dismissed for now, Tobias." The king said. "Tell Thomas I said hi while you're on your break." 

The young man's eyes grew wide as he pushed his hair away from his eyes. "O-oh-yes, sire!" 

Tobias bowed his head again at the king, sent a soft smile to both him and George, and ducked out of the room quickly. The king began to look around the room as George watched silently from beside the doorway. 

"Your majesty?" He spoke, carefully averting his gaze as the king bent to check a lower shelf. 

"Yes, my knight?" The king questioned, not bothering to look back at George behind him. 

"May I ask why you've brought me to the infirmary only to dismiss the physician?" George asked, carefully looking back at the king who was standing now and facing him, cloth and bandages in his arms. 

"To clean up that nasty cut of yours, of course." The king said as if it were so obvious, gesturing to the chair Tobias has previously resided in. George carefully sat, placing his hand in the king's when he held it out. 

George wanted to press further, to question why the king had decided to clean the wound himself, apparently. He didn't though. He didn't want it to seem as though he were questioning his king's authority. He was lucky that his first question hadn't been taken as such. 

The king had begun to clean the dried blood that stuck onto George's skin, carefully washing away dark red and black. As he scrubbed carefully the pale cloth became darker and darker while George's skin grew paler. 

George hissed suddenly when the king scrubbed a little too roughly close to the wound, eyes squeezing shut. The king immediately stopped his cleaning, drawing the cloth away. 

"I'm sorry," the king said, voice terribly soft. George slowly opened his eyes, half sure he had passed out and this was a dream. The king was sorry, after all of this? After helping George so much, for absolutely no reason? What on earth was happening today? He had to have lost it. 

"You have nothing to apologize for, sire." George assured. "Thank you for your help." 

"Are you alright for me to continue cleaning? I don't want you to get an infection, my knight." The king's eyes seemed to hold concern, but George had to have seen that wrong. 

"Of course. I can handle it, sire. Even if I flinch, you do not need to stop." 

"Tell me if I do." The king said, returning to washing away the blood. He was much softer now, treating the knight so delicately. George was not used to this. 

They sat in silence for a while, save for the few soft hisses from George when something stung a tad too harshly. It felt content, really. The king had gotten distracted with his task of cleaning up George's wound, which gave George the opportunity to gaze carefully upon his king's face. The king was very private about his appearance. Most of the commoners knew nothing of what the king looked like. George was one of few among the castle to really know what he looked like, and he was the only one among the other knights to know. Yet he still had never seen the king this closely, had never dared to gaze for this long. 

The king looked... nice. 

His yellow eyes(at least, yellow for George) focused in so carefully on his task, narrowing ever so slightly. His eyebrows were drawn in close together, nose scrunched the slightest bit. George could count the number of freckles on his face, they were nothing compared to the freckles on his arms, but they still suited him so nicely. The one time George dared to look down at the king's lips was when he had tried to blow his king blonde locks out of his eyes, failing terribly and drawing a hand back from George with a sigh to push it away. George had chewed on the inside of his mouth to keep from letting a soft smile bloom on his lips. 

"Y'know," the king broke the silence, dragging George from his mind and back into his body. He flushed a deep red as the king glanced up at him, their eyes meeting. "You're supposed to be my best knight. Yet somehow, you're almost always the one with the most injuries. I'm almost beginning to think you're not that good at your job." 

"I-wh-sire, I can assure you, I-" George spluttered, beginning to defend himself. His face had begun to go pale, mortified at the idea that he hadn't been meeting his king's standards. He loved his job, and he never wanted to lose it. 

The king burst out into giggles-giggles-and cut George off, leaving the knight absolutely baffled. 

"It was a joke, George." The king continued to laugh, eyes crinkling in the corners. George swore it wasn't just his face that was aflame now, but his entire body. The combination of the king using his name so light-heartedly, the giggles that sounded like music, and the way the king's eyes softened as he looked at him had George melting. He must have an infection. A fever was the only thing that could explain this delirium he was experiencing now. 

"It wasn't even that funny of a joke," the king wheezed, eyes closing as he tried to compose himself. "I was only teasing, but-" he collapsed into small giggles again. "Oh, your face! You take me far too seriously, my knight." 

George swallowed thickly before opening his mouth, wanting to say something, anything, but he was still so confused. What was happening again? 

"Come on, my knight." The king said, giving George's palm he still held in his hand a light squeeze. "Let your guard down a little, it's okay. You are a highly respectable knight, and I couldn't possibly replace you with anybody. You have nothing to fear amongst your king." 

"Of course, sire." George nodded quickly. "I know I have nothing to be afraid of." 

"You don't have to be so formal, you know." The king mentioned suddenly, after the room had gone quiet for a time. He had finished cleaning the wound and had begun to wrap a bandage around it. "We are not having a formal meeting. You can talk to me, my knight." 

George nodded slowly, although he didn't know what he was meant to discuss with him. He tried to think, but it became obvious to the king after a few moments that he would need to be the one to initiate the conversation. 

"So, if you're alright with discussing," the king gestured a hand to the half-bandaged arm, raising a brow. "How did this happen?" 

George glanced down at the cut for a moment, thinking back to earlier in the day. "We were patrolling as usual. Everything seemed normal, quiet. Then, as we were walking through the town square, there was a yell." 

George paused, unsure if he should really give much detail. Maybe the king only wanted him to explain shortly. When he looked up to gauge the reaction of the king he was surprised to find him gazing intently, seemingly hanging on to his words, waiting to hear. He seemed almost excited at getting George to speak for more than a sentence. George's words got stuck in his throat for a moment, blocked by the lump that settled itself there. He averted his gaze from the king and cleared his throat to dislodge it. 

"Uh, the yell, it... it came from a woman, a shopkeeper. A man was running from her stand, and I could tell she was yelling at him. I saw him holding something from the stand, and I knew she had been robbed." George was getting overwhelmed by the amount of attention he was getting from the king, but he wouldn't deny him the story when he clearly seemed so intent on listening to it. 

"Me and Sapnap, we ran after him immediately. Sapnap got there first, he went to tackle the man. I noticed a glinting as the man pulled his hands from his pocket, and I shouted for Sapnap to step back. He didn't, the dumbass-" George used his good arm to throw a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. 

"My apologies, your majesty." George started to rise in an attempt to bow in apology, but he was stopped by the kings hands pressing his shoulders back down. 

"You've done nothing wrong, knight." The king assured, huffing a quiet laugh. "You're so nervous. Relax, I've already told you. We don't have to be formal." 

"You are still my king, and I must show you my respect." George said, but he didn't fight the king's hands on his shoulders. He frowned to himself as the king sighed, shoulders slumping slightly. 

"Right. Keep going, if you don't mind." 

"Right, yes-so, Sapnap, he didn't stop. I knew the man had a knife though, and he was going to hurt him. So I jumped forward, raised my arm up to block him. He would have caught him in the throat had I not stepped in. After that the rest of our guards surrounded him, and he dropped his weapon and surrendered. There was no way for him to get out of it, after that. I'm glad he only got my arm, instead of my friend's life." 

"You're very brave," the king said, squeezing George's hand. He had long since finished bandaging his arm, now simply sitting with the other and listening to him speak. "Not many would have jumped in to save their friend that way." 

"I was happy to do it," George muttered, ears red along with his entire face. "I have always loved my job, serving you and your kingdom as a knight." 

"I'm lucky to have such a courageous, kind-hearted knight working for my kingdom." The king's voice was lower than usual, hands playing with George's fingers. George watched him, letting him move his hand in any way he desired. He was embarrassed when the man peered at one of his scars, fingers grazing over it so softly. He really didn't understand why he had gained the attention of the young king today, and he didn't know how to feel about it. It was... nice, incredibly flattering, but it just didn't make sense. 

He was sure things would get back to normal soon. 

A glance out of the infirmary window told George that quite some time had passed since he first came in to see the king. He had taken up far too much of his time, and they hadn't even spoken about whatever it was the king had called him in for. 

"Sire," George gained the attention of the king, feeling his eyes leave his hands and float back up to his face. "It is getting quite late. I don't want to keep you, I am sure you have much more important stuff to be attending to... Should we discuss what it was you called me in for?" 

"Oh yes, of course." The king dropped George's hand, letting him finally pull his arm back to rest atop his lap. The king sat up straighter, reaching up to adjust his crown. "I am giving you a pay raise." 

"A raise?" George sat up straighter himself, surprise overtaking his features. "Are you sure, sire? I don't think I have done much worth a raise." 

"Nonsense," the king waved his hand, dismissing the idea. "It is well deserved. You take so much time making sure my kingdom is safe for my people. You've more than earned this." 

"I-Thank you, sire. This is greatly appreciated!" George did stand this time to bow. The king let him, smiling softly his way. 

"I'm afraid I've kept you for far longer than intended, my knight." The king stood from his own chair, adjusting his cape that fell over his shoulders heavily. "I'm sure you have your own things to attend to, I do apologize. You may take your leave." 

"You haven't kept me from anything at all, sire." George assured quickly, bowing his head one final time. "I have enjoyed your company. Thank you, for the pay and for helping with my injury." 

"Thank you for the talk." The king said, smiling. "Have a good night, George." 

The shiver returned, and George nodded his head quickly, speaking only once more before turning to leave. "You as well, your majesty."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious stranger appears during the knight’s training time to spar with George.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an important note before we start, I don't know anything about sword fighting. I'm just making up things that sound cool and look like what I've seen in movies so, forgive me for inaccuracy lol.

The sun was at its highest point, bearing down on all of the knights. Their armor felt heavy and hot, too many layers causing them discomfort in the heat of the afternoon. Still they trained hard, sparring together in the fields just outside of the castle. Metal clanked loudly as knight's swords hit those of their opponents, or bounced off their armor. The highest ranking knight stood off to the side, watching his men as they trained. There was an uneven amount of knights training today, leaving George without a partner. George shared encouragement and tips with his men when they were needed though, and did a bit of mocking when his fellow knight and best friend Sapnap was knocked off of his feet by his sparring partner. 

"Sir George?" A voice called from behind the top knight, startling him the slightest bit. George's hand fell to his scabbard, whirling around to face the man. He was completely stunned to find the face of the king staring back at him, smile gracing his lips as he watched George's face flicker through an array of emotions. 

"Your high-" 

"Dream." The king said, darting his eyes towards the other knights as a signal to George not to reveal who he was. They had never seen the kings face before, and so they wouldn't know who he was. "My name is Dream." 

George cleared his throat, frown on his lips as he examined the king. "Right. Dream... Um, is there something I can assist you with, si-Dream?" 

"I know I am not a knight myself, but I have worn my armor here in the hopes of sparring with you, if you'll allow it?" The king, or Dream, apparently, smiled pleasantly towards George. He was in a full suit of armor, covered head to toe in the strongest material that armor could be made from. It didn't work well for his disguise, no commoner could ever afford something of that strength (not even him as the highest of the knights), but George was not about to point that out. 

"Who's this?" George heard Sapnap ask from behind George, approaching the pair after finally winning a sparring battle. "You're not giving my friend George over here any trouble now, are you?" 

"He's a-" George looked from Sapnap over to the king, swallowing thickly. The king just smiled at him and Sapnap with apparently no intentions of introducing himself, and George turned his attention back to his friend. "He's a friend of mine." 

Sapnap nodded slowly, looking the king up and down, seeming to examine every detail. "Nice armor. Too nice for a commoner... what do you do for work, exactly?" 

"Sapnap." George barked quickly, wanting to stop this interrogation before Sapnap found himself in trouble with the king. His face was heating up quickly, nerves getting to him. "Sapnap, why don't you go do some more sparring? You've won a total of one fight with your teammates today, you could use the practice." 

Sapnap blinked at George slowly, frown tugging at his lips for a moment. He caught sight of George's red cheeks and his eyes seemed to go a little wider, mouth forming an 'O' shape before cracking into a wide grin. "Okay, okay. I'll leave you two be then-have fun!" 

Sapnap winked as he headed off to find another sparring partner, leaving George blushing furiously with the king standing right beside of him. George turned to the king quickly, bowing his head in apology. "Your highness, I greatly apologize! He did not know it was you, or I swear he wouldn't have-" 

"Relax," the king chuckled brightly, a hand clapping itself on George's shoulder. "You worry too much. He seems fun. Anyways, you didn't answer my question." 

George's brain felt like it was falling apart. "I-um. Your question?" 

"Will you allow me to spar with you?" The king asked, gesturing to the sword that rested against his side. "It's been a while since I've been able to practice. It would be wonderful to get to practice again with my best knight." 

The way the king said the end of his sentence made George's eyes widen the slightest bit, sending a shiver down his spine. He truly did not understand the way the king spoke about him, as if he were... proud? Admiring him? Whatever it was, it was... a lot. George swallowed down the lump that started to form in his throat, and forced himself to nod. 

"Alright. I... don't see why not, sire." 

"Dream," the king corrected him, and George slowly nodded again, leading the king to an empty spot on the kingdom's training field. They were further away from the other knights, definitely out of ear shot. This way George wouldn't have to disrespect the king anymore by calling him by a different name. 

"Don't go easy on me now, George," the king's face was bright as he drew his sword from its sheath on his hip. "I know you're strong, but I can take you." 

George nodded, drawing his own sword out of its sheath and taking a defensive stance. "Whenever you're ready, sire." 

There was a sudden flash of movement, the king giving no warning at all before he lunged towards his knight. He was fast, but George's instincts were far faster. He had already raised his own sword to block the kings blow, holding steady and pushing back against him. The king was certainly strong, but so was he. 

"It's Dream, George." The king said as he pushed against George's block. 

"We're out of earshot of the other knights," George pointed out, twisting his sword out of the block and attempting to throw the king off. It didn't work, and the king met George's attempt to strike with his own block, a grin on his lips as George huffed. 

"I know," he said simply, leaving George feeling confused before he started right back up in the fight. Swords clashed over and over, lunging and blocking in a steady rhythm they couldn't seem to break. They fought hard, hot sun bearing down on them harshly as they fought. In the end it was George who won the duel, a swift move with his sword disarming the king and sending his weapon flying a few feet away. The edge of George's blade found itself directly in front of the kings throat, a wicked grin gracing his lips. 

George stood still for a moment, panting heavily before it hit him that he was still pointing a blade to the kings throat. George nearly dropped his sword entirely, pulling it back to his side and bowing sharply. "I sincerely apologize, I-" 

The king-Dream?-laughed sharply, gently taking hold of George by the shoulder to pull him back up straight. "What are you apologizing for? Winning? I told you not to go easy on me." 

George swallowed thickly, looking down at the kings hand that rested on his shoulder so gently. His cheeks reddened, bowing his head to look at his feet. "I-well, si-Dream... I do not wish to come across... disrespectful." 

"Please," the king sighed, squeezing the spot he held on George's shoulder reassuringly. "You do not come across that way at all, George." 

There was a moment of silence that drifted between them. George glanced up to meet the King's eyes only to find him gazing off with a faraway look, his bottom lip worried between his teeth. When he met George's eyes again suddenly George felt his cheeks burn again, lowering his gaze slightly in respect. 

"May I confide in you, George?" 

George nodded his head slowly, raising his eyes to find the kings own eyes staring deeply into his own. The gaze pinned him into place, keeping him from moving even the slightest bit. George drew in a shuddering breath. 

"You interest me," the king said simply, drawing a strangled, confused noise from George's throat. The king let out soft giggles at that, covering his mouth. "Sorry, was that too much? I just... you're a brave, skilled knight, and a generally kind-hearted person. You seem very genuine, but mostly guarded... very private." 

George stared wide eyed as the king went on, his gaze on George seeming... fond. It was not something George was used to seeing directed at him, especially not from a man so respected and important. Yet the words poured from the king's lips so easily and honestly, and George found himself believing that the king truly meant the kind words. It left him at a loss for words himself, not knowing how he should respond. Luckily for him, the king continued, not giving him a chance to dwell on it too much. 

"I'd like to get to know you, George," said the king, lips quirked into the smallest of smiles. "But... not as the king. Not as someone you have to respect, or be polite to. I want to know you as a person, and to be treated as a person too." 

George took in his words slowly, carefully. His mind was reeling through a thousand questions, and he didn't know how to feel about any of this. As he looked into the eyes of his king though, George could see the slightest flicker of something hidden deep within them, an emotion buried meticulously down beneath everything else. 

Loneliness. The king was lonely. 

"I understand that this is very... forward. It was abrupt, and probably too much and-" 

"Okay," George said simply, cutting off the nervous ramblings of the king-Dream. Just Dream. 

Dream watched George for a moment, brow furrowed as he blinked a few times. "Okay..?" 

"Okay..." George drew in a deep breath, standing up a bit taller as he looked back up at Dream. "Let's get to know each other then, Dream." 

Dream's breath seemed to stutter in his throat, eyes going a bit wide at the use of his chosen false name. It was the first time George seemed comfortable to not use formal titles for him, and this caused a face-splitting grin to appear over Dream's lips. 

"Really..?" He breathed, excitement bubbling out of his mouth with the question. 

"Really," George nodded, smiling shakily back at the king. "But... but please, forgive me if I still call you sire and such... I will have to get used to it." 

"Of course," Dream nodded, entire body bouncing with his head. "Yes, yes, of course that's okay. I-thank you. Thank you!" 

George couldn't help it as a short laugh escaped his lips, covering them with his mouth as his face burned. The king could be so... boyish, sometimes. It reminded him how young the king truly was, despite the maturity thrust upon him from an early age. It was cute, seeing him get so excitable. Of course, George would never voice this aloud. 

"I like your laugh," Dream spoke quietly, almost like he hadn't meant to really voice the words at all. Still he smiled as George registered the words, ducking his head down to hide from Dream as it grew a bright red. 

"Th-thanks," George muttered, coughing into his hand. His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword, gesturing the end of his weapon vaguely over to where Dream's had landed before. "Want to go another round? Maybe... maybe I should go easy on you this time." 

The taunting was voiced so unconfidently and Dream laughed loudly, retrieving his sword from the ground before he returned to a fighting stance, preparing to go again. "Don't you dare." 

George was the first to lunge forward this time, attempting to throw Dream off of his guard quickly. He didn't intend on going easy on him at all now. If Dream wanted to be treated as an equal, George was going to treat him as he did any of his comrades. They would fight fairly. 

Unfortunately Dream had fast reflexes, and he dodged George's attack swiftly. He was grinning from ear to ear as he fought, whereas George kept his expression guarded, focused. His eyes followed Dream's every movement, sword gripped tightly in his hand as he waited for him to strike. The pair returned to their back and forth of trying to beat the other, but both seemed to be almost equally matched. 

George honestly found it to be quite... fun. It had been a while since he had battled someone on the same level as him. All of his fellow knights were good soldiers, there was no doubt about it, but George was still at the top of all of them. They were good, but they weren't a challenge to spar with like Dream was. 

George felt a trickle of sweat falling down his back, felt his breath enter cold through his nose, and come out hot from his mouth. The hand holding his sword tensed painfully for only a moment, but it was long enough. Before George really knew what had happened his hand was grasping the air, and a heavy weight was pushed fast against his chest. His feet came off the ground and his back replaced them there, knocking the wind out of him with a shocked cry. He blinked sweat from his eyes to find the tip of a sword pointed at his nose, and connected to that sword, Dream, staring down at him with a cocky grin. 

"I win," the king said simply, and George drew in a large breath just to let out a loud sigh, squeezing his eyes shut and letting his head loll back to rest on the ground. 

"Whatever," George said, resting there for a moment and catching his breath. When he opened up his eyes again the king was still hovering there, sword still pointed towards him. George raised an eyebrow. "Are you gonna let me up now?" 

Dream hummed, seeming to think about it for a moment. "I dunno," he said, flat edge of his sword meeting George's chin, causing his breath to hitch. "I kind of like you this way." 

George swallowed thickly, mouth opening and then hanging open as he tried to search for what he could possibly say. What did that even mean? Luckily, Dream laughed loudly and pulled the knife away, so George didn't have much time to continue dwelling on it. He held a hand out for George to take. 

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He promised as George took his hand carefully. Dream pulled him off of the ground with a strength that made George's blood burn under the skin of his cheeks, taking a careful step back after he was steady on his feet again. He met Dream's eyes and found the man smiling warmly, clearly happy and joking, and George let his muscles relax. 

"You make a great sparring partner." 

"Thanks," George said quickly, nodding towards him. "So do you. I'm impressed." 

"Well, being required to train in fighting for the last 15 years probably helps." 

"You've been training to fight since you were six?" George asked after calculating in his head, surprised. 

Dream shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. But it was a required lesson for me for quite a few years. And of course, my dad would only ever assign me teachers who were the best of the best. That definitely didn't hurt." 

"That sounds nice," George commented, remembering how he had learned to fight. It wasn't nearly as easy for him as it had been for Dream, but George had been determined. At least it had worked out well for him, if him being nearly equal to Dream was any indication of his skill. 

"At least that one was one of the fun lessons." Dream said, shrugging his shoulders. "I liked sparring." He twisted the sword around in his hand, examining it closely. "Seems to help burn off frustrations sometimes." 

"Were you feeling frustrated?" George asked before he could think the better of it. How had he already gotten so comfortable before his king? Dream didn't seem to mind, at least. "Before coming out here today?" 

Dream hesitated, mouth open as he stared at the sword a few moments longer. He closed it and looked at George, frowning for a moment. "I can't really discuss the specifics. But yes. I was dealing with something... kind of stressful." 

George nodded, not pushing any further. It wasn't his place to know the things his king was handling, he didn't need to ask. George chewed on his lower lip for a moment, thinking to himself. 

"If you'd like," George started, voice soft and wavering. "You can always come find me when the stress gets too much. I'm never opposed to sparring. Especially when they're as skilled as you." 

"How sweet," the king grinned, and George's face heat up as he already knew he was being made fun of. "You think I'm skilled?" 

"How could you not be?" George said quickly, averting his eyes from Dream's direction. "With all those special lessons, it'd be an embarrassment if you weren't." 

"Well, I'm pleased to know you don't find me to be an embarrassment." Dream chuckled. Silence fell between the pair, and Dream looked upwards towards the sky. He sighed quietly after a moment, seeming disappointed. 

"I've been out here a while." Dream said, gaze on the suns position. "I should probably get back to work. It... probably wouldn't be good for me to get caught out here while I'm supposed to be working." 

"Caught by who? You're the king. Who's going to say anything to you?" George questioned. Dream laughed humorlessly. 

"Oh trust me, the old bats who used to work for my dad will be all over me about everything I do wrong." He said, returning his sword to its sheath. "So I'd better get back before one of them realizes I'm not there. They could also blow my cover around here. I like getting to walk around without people knowing my face., I don't want that ruined." 

"Do you need someone to escort you back?" George gestured towards the castle walls where Dream resided. 

"Oh George, you're not trying to get into my bedroom with me, are you?" Dream asked with a lopsided grin, eyes smiling too. 

"What?" George asked incredulously, mouth gaping. "I-you-no! What the-Dream!" 

Laughter bubbled over from Dream's lips, seeming absolutely delighted at George's response. His breath escaped him as a wheeze chased out all of the air in his lungs, desperately gasping to draw more in to continue laughing at George's horrified reaction. 

"Oh-oh, oh my god," Dream cackled, bending over and grasping at his stomach. George stood in front of him with his arms crossed, frown on his lips that he struggled to keep there. It was hard not to smile when Dream was laughing so much. "I'm sorry that was-that was so dumb, but you reacted so well," Dream seemed to deflate with another wheeze, taking a moment to try and relax his laughter. When he finally calmed down he smiled widely at George, who finally couldn't help but let a small smile overtake his lips instead of a frown. 

"On a serious note," Dream said softly, gazing almost fondly at George in front of him. "I appreciate the offer. But I'll be okay to get there myself. No one knows who I am out here so, I'll be safe. Thank you, though." 

"Of course," George muttered, having to fight the 'sire,' that tried to tumble from his lips at the end. "Stay safe. I'll... see you soon?" 

"Yeah," Dream said, grinning his way before he set off back to the castle. "See you soon, George."


End file.
